


Oh! Like the Anime

by Solarisetlesetoiles



Series: Jason and Tim vs. the supernatural [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Ghosts, M/M, Slow Burn, Swearing, Vampires, the ghosts ship it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2020-12-28 02:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21129452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solarisetlesetoiles/pseuds/Solarisetlesetoiles
Summary: A few months after the business with the demon cult, Tim finally calls Jason back.(I am putting this story on temporary hiatus. I am very sorry T-T)





	1. The phone call

It was the dead hours of the morning; when it’s too late for the night but too early for the day when Jason got the call. 

He wasn’t expecting it to be honest, even though a part of him half hoped, so he was cautious when he opened the burner phone.

“_Hello?_”

“Hey. So, you remember when you gave me this number and said to call if anything weird happened, right?” Tim’s voice was hesitant, and Jason went on alert. 

“_Yeah. You think something’s up?_” Great just what he needed, more fucking demon worshippers. God fucking dammit. 

“There’ve been reports of strange murders, mostly bodies drained of blood,” Tim reported, “and normally, I’d chalk that up to the normal crazy of Gotham, but uh… we did fight a demon a few months ago, and uh, are Vampires a thing?” 

“_Sonofabitch._” Jason hated vampires. They were pretentious assholes and a pain in the ass to deal with.

“Oh, wow. So they are a thing, that’s cool,” Tim rambled.

“_Yeah, replacement, they’re real. A real pain in the ass. Meet me at the south end of the Bowery tomorrow evening, don’t you engage any further until then,_” Jason ordered, mind already running through the items he’d need to find. 

If he knew his replacement, tiny Tim wasn’t gonna let this go, and he’d run headfirst into the path of the leeches without a moment’s hesitation. 

“Uh, sure. See you.” The line went silent, and Jason tucked the phone back into his pocket. He fired his grappling line and swung off into the night.

***

Jason wanted a smoke, he was early to his rendezvous with Tim, because he had been too keyed up to wait. Above him, the sky mirrored his dark mood, it was overcast, and Jason hunched his shoulders as the wind picked up.

Jason tried to ignore the package he had clutched under his arm, but he also really wanted to get this over with.

“Hood.” Tim greeted as he swung onto the roof.

Jason nodded, “_yer late._”

Tim shrugged, “you didn’t give me a specific time.”

He was right, but Jason didn’t want to admit it.

“_Here,_” he shoved the package at Tim, “_this is for you._”

Tim shifted in surprise, and then he hesitantly reached out.

Jason grumbled at his reluctance, “_take it replacement, I don’t have all night to wait around._”

Tim took the package and opened it. Jason shifted on his feet while Tim inspected to contents.

“Is this garlic spray?” Tim asked curiously.

“_Use it like pepper spray,_” Jason explained.

“Okay,” Tim pulled out a collar, the look on his face told Jason he was perplexed, “is what I think it is?”

“_Get yer head outta the gutter It’s ta protect your neck._” This was a terrible decision; Jason should never have let Tim know about his powers.

“Cool,” Tim finally pulled out the small silver stake, and he frowned, “I’m not stabbing anyone with this Hood.”

“_Tough shit, kid. Either you take that with you, or I keep you outta this case._” 

Tim scowled, but he did tuck the stake into his belt along with the collar and the garlic spray.

“Are we going to talk about the vampires now?” 

“_Yeah, sure,_” when Tim looked at him expectantly Jason continued, “_tell me what you’ve found._”

Tim raised his hands in mock innocence, “Me? I’ve been listening to your advice and not engaging.” 

Bullshit he wasn’t.

“_Don’t bullshit me, Replacement. You bat-freaks never stop poking yer noses where they don’t belong. Spill,_” Jason demanded.

Tim frowned, then he sighed, “okay, okay, I may have made a map of the area where the bodies have been found. Look,” He held out his gauntlet, and holoprojection popped up covered in small red dots. “Most of the victims seem to have been to this new club, it’s called Demeter, though that’s a weird choice for a club that might be run by vampires and -” 

“_It’s a literary reference,_” Jason interjected.

“What?”

“_In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the ship Dracula arrives in is called the Demeter,_” Jason explained.

“Huh,” Tim frowned, “But you sound sure the club is involved somehow.” He looked at Jason expectantly.

“_I’ve been investigating it. Think it’s a front for a new gang._” Several of his contacts had mentioned that something odd was going on with the club.

“There are vampire gangs?” Tim sounded on the verge of laughter, “is this a thing you have to deal with regularly?”

“_Yeah, yeah, laugh it up replacement, we’ll see how funny you find it when you’ve gotta beat a bunch of them off a yer ass,_” Jason huffed.

“Sorry, sorry,” Tim was trying and failing to contain his snickers. “It’s just you’d think vampires would have better things to do than commit crimes.”

Jason sorted, “_I know right?_” 

Tim grinned at him. He had a nice smile. 

Wait. 

Jason tried to shove the stupid, unhelpful thought down. “_Anyway, we should do some recon around the club, see if we can’t pick up anything just from around that._” 

“Sounds good,” Tim pulled out his grapple line, “after you.”

***

The Demeter was a very flash club. Bright red lights decorated the front, but the building was all old gothic in style. In was a strange contrast, the old architecture and the modern neon lights. 

“Wow, that’s the least subtle thing I’ve ever seen,” Tim comment beside Jason as they perched on the building across from the club.

“_Yeah, vampires are dramatic bitches, I think it’s because of their age,_” Jason fidgeted with the binoculars in his helmet.

“Okay Hood, I have an extremely important question for you,” Jason froze at the serious tone in Tim’s voice, was he finally going to ask about Jason’s ability to see the supernatural?

“Is Dracula real?” 

Of all the questions Jason had been expecting, that was not the one.

Jason choked out a laugh, “_What, seriously?_” 

“Yeah!” Tim sounded embarrassed, “I have no frame of reference for what is and isn’t possible, so - oh my god, stop laughing Hood!” 

But Jason couldn’t contain himself, and Tim’s affronted tone sent him into another round of chuckles.

“Okay, I’m glad you get such amusement out of my genuine desire for knowledge,” Tim grumbled.

Jason let out a deep breath, “_I don’t think he’s real. I haven’t heard anything concrete._”

“Huh,” Tim muttered, “lame.”

Jason huffed a quiet laugh, “_Sorry to disappoint._”

“Nah,” Tim shrugged, “just don’t tell me that Mothman doesn’t exist, that’ll actually break my heart.”

“_Will do replacement._” Tim’s face fell at that, and Jason wondered what he had said.

“We should get going with the investigation,” Tim stated robotically. 

Jason hated that tone of voice. It reminded him too much of Bruce and his inability to be a person with functioning emotions.

“_Sure._”

“I’ll take the west side. You go east.”

“_Okay._”

Without another word, Tim fired his grapple and swung down to the west side of the building.

Jason sat for a moment, then he sighed and dragged himself to his feet. He fired his own grapple and swung down into the alley on the east side.

Maybe it was a good thing Tim had suggested they split up.

It saved Jason from the trouble of explaining why he was talking to thin air.

Jason landed in the alley. He looked around to make sure that he was alone.

“_Hello?_”

Silence. Jason waited a moment, then “_anybody there?_”

“Why’s ‘e talkin to ‘im self?” A ghost materialized into existence, he was transparent in the way all ghosts were, but he was dressed like it was the 1920’s

“Maybe he’s crazy?” a woman appeared next to the man, she was dressed up in the clothing that liked it was from the 80s, “can’t be talkin' to us.”

“_I am._” Both ghosts startled at Jason’s words.

“‘Scuse me?” the women asked taken aback. 

“_My name is the Red Hood, I’m here to look into murders that might have something to do with this club,_” Jason introduced himself, “_have either of you seen or heard anything?_”

“Oh, ‘s been a long time since a livin’ one could see us,” the male ghost commented, “why’re you dressed so stupid, you look worse ‘an Angie.” he gestured to his companion.

“Shut up Daniel,” Angie shoved at him. 

Jason sighed, ghosts had no sense of urgency and could be distracted by the smallest of things.

“_My taste in fashion aside, have either of you seen anything odd?_” 

“Odd how? This is Gotham we’re talking about,” Angie asked. 

“_Mmm, new ghosts, people acting shady ‘round the club, that sorta thing._” 

Angie and Daniel floated in silence for a moment, then Daniel turned to Angie, “d’ya think ‘e means like Mikey?” he asked.

“Mikey isn’t new though,” Angie argued.

“What’ya mean ‘e isn’t new, ‘e’s just shown up!” Daniel retorted, “an ‘e’s always complainin’ talkin ‘bout ‘ow ‘e’s not suppost to be ‘ere.”

“But he’s not new,” Angie repeated, “he’s been here for a few months, that’s not new, this Red Hood fellow,” she gestured to Jason, “he’s looking for new ghosts.”

Daniel opened his mouth to retort, but Jason decided now was a good time to but in.

“_A few months will do. Where can I find this Mikey?_” he demanded. 

“‘Round the back, near Saint’s street,” Daniel pointed.

“No, no, no,” Angie cut in, “it’s not called that anymore,” she turned to Jason and made a sort of what can you do face, “it’s called Chapel now.”

“_Thank you,_” Jason turned and began to make his way towards Chapel.

“Wait!”

He turned and found Angie twisting her hands together with an anxious look on her face. By her side, Daniel was whispering furtively to her. 

“Be careful ‘round here. They’re not nice.”

“_What do you mean?_” 

Angie and Daniel exchanged a look. 

“I’m all clear on my side, coming over to you.” Tim’s voice sounded over the helmet’s comm.

Jason didn’t know what to do; he wasn’t sure if Tim would believe that he could talk to ghosts.

“Jus’ watch yerself,” Daniel cautioned, as he and Angie faded from view.

A few moments later, Tim landed next to Jason.

“Did you find anything Hood?”

Jason shrugged, “_maybe, but it’s something I’ve gotta look in ta on my own._”

Tim frowned and folded his arms, “I thought we were working together on this.”

Jason winced at the hurt in his tone. “_We are, I’ve just gotta do this one thing on my own._”

“Is it some sort of supernatural thing? Because I thought you gave me stuff so I could come with you and-”

The sound of a door opening stopped him in his tracks. They both moved in unison to get out of the alley.

A side door to the club opened, and several drunk people stumbled out. They didn’t appear to be under the influence of anything other than alcohol, so Jason and Tim watch them stagger down the alley without interruption.

“I’m not going to judge you for any weird shit Hood,” and goddammit, he sounded so sincere, “I just want to help.”

Jason let out a long sigh, “_I can talk to ghosts._”

“...” Tim was silent, but Jason didn’t want to turn and see the look of disdain on his face.

“I guess that makes solving crimes a lot easier.”

Jason jerked his head up to stare at Tim, “_how are you calm about this?_”

Tim shrugged, “I mean, it’s an established fact that you can see stuff I can’t.”

Jason didn’t know how to respond to that. He was floored, Tim didn’t think he was crazy, he believed him.

Tim shifted awkwardly, “Soo, is the potential lead you wanted to look into a ghost?”

“_Yeah._”

“Okay,” Tim climbed to his feet, “let’s go.”

It took Jason a moment to process, but then he clambered to his feet.

“_Can’t promise it’ll be real interesting,_” he warned, “_‘specially ‘cause ghosts can be finicky._”

Tim shrugged, and so they made their way to Chapel street.

“_Hello?_” Jason called out, Tim a few feet behind him, “_Mikey?_”

There was silence for a moment, but then a ghost did materialize out of the air. He was thin, but dressed in what Jason supposed was the current fashion.

“You’re the Red Hood.” 

Jason nodded, “_That’s me. You know Angie and Daniel?_”

Mikey continued to stare. Then he gave a shuddery sob.

“_Whoa, hey, ‘s alright,_” Jason tried to comfort him.

“Noo it nooot,” Mikey cried, “Yer only asking because I’m dead!”

“_‘S gonna be okay,_” Jason promised, “_we’re gonna catch the bastards that did this to you._”

“How're you going ta do that?” Mikey wailed, “they’ve got ways a making you do stuff you don’ even wanna do an they’re so strong an an…” he broke down into unintelligible sobs.

Jason ground his teeth. This was why he hated vampires, they could compel their victims, and the slimy bastards abused the hell out of it.

“Uh, Mikey?” Tim's voice broke through Jason’s growing rage.

Tim was staring over in the direction Jason was facing, though not a Mikey directly.

His words stopped Mikey’s sobs.

“You can hear me?” Mikey asked, his voice hoarse and timid.

“_He can’t,_” Jason felt bad when Mickey wilted, “_but I’ll pass whatever you wanna say along._”

Mikey perked up at that, “will you tell ‘im he’s my favorite?” He froze and then waved his hands frantically, “not that you aren’t great an all!”

Jason laughed, “_He says you're his favorite._”

Tim fucking beamed at the words. Jason was unprepared for the sheer brightness of his smile.

“Thank you Mikey. That’s a huge honor. I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you, but we’re going to do our best to stop the people who did this and make sure they can’t do it to anyone else.”

“Aw, shucks,” Mikey floated happily. Then he sobered, “I don’ really remember much, I know I was dancin’ and then one of the bosses goons saw me, he was real charming at first, you know how it is,” he waved a hand, “but then everything gets fuzzy after that, I think we went into another room… and then well, I woke up like this.” He gestured to himself. “Sorry, I can’t tell you much else.”

“_Okay, that’s already more than enough to help us get going,_” Jason assured him. 

“Really?” Mikey perked up.

“_Yeah._” Jason turned to Tim and relayed what Mikey had just told him.

“I dunno if this is super helpful, but the boss of the club is named Alucard,” Mikey offered him when he had finished.

“_Nah, that’s plenty helpful,_” Jason turned back to Tim, “_he says the boss is called Alucard._”

“Oh! Like the anime?” Tim asked, sounding oddly delighted about the prospect.

“Yeah!” Mikey chimed loudly, “that’s what I thought too!” 

Jason felt left out. 

“_Care to fill me in Red?_” he asked.

Tim grinned, “it’s a Japanese animation about vampires, Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards.”

“_... that’s lame._”

Jason’s statement was met with an offended “no!” from Tim, and a “boooo!” from Mikey.

He held up his hands in mock surrender.

“_Alright, Red an’ I need to get going, thank you for your help,_” he said to Mikey.

The ghost nodded happily.

“Bye Mikey,” Tim waved.

“Bye!”

Jason and Tim fired their grappling lines and headed out.


	2. Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Tim go undercover.

“We need to go undercover.” 

“What?” Jason asked as he looked up from the club’s blueprints.

“It won’t be enough just to catch these guys in the act,” Tim explained, not bothering to take his eyes off his computer, “what are we going to tell the GCPD? Yeah, these guys are supernatural creatures, could you please lock them up? So-” he spun around in his chair, “we need to find evidence of illegal activity.”

“Okay. And why do you think that’ll stop the murders?” Jason rested his chin in his palm and stared at Tim.

Tim’s face scrunched up in thought, and he pushed his feet against the floor to propel himself in a circle, “well, they seem to want to operate under the radar to a certain extent- oh!” his feet slammed into the floor. He fixed Jason with an intense look, “please tell me there’s some sort of secret council regulating all the vampires.”

Jason shrugged, “hell if I know.”

Tim pouted, “why are you so poorly informed about the supernatural community Jason? Didn’t you say you’d dealt with Vampires before?”

It grated a little, “I did, but I was riding the crazy train then,” it’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth, “wasn’t really interested in supernatural government structures.”

“The league has connections to the supernatural?” Tim sounded weirdly offended by the thought, “that sucks. Ra’s is already super annoying; now he could possibly be sending demon cultists around?”

“I mean, demon is in his name,” Jason pointed out, bemused.

“But he’s not supposed to have actual demons,” Tim complained, “and how come Bruce doesn’t know about this?”

Jason shrugged awkwardly. Tim grumbled and launched into a bitching fit about Bruce and his inability to deal with magic.

It was cute.

Wait.

No, no, it wasn’t cute.

Funny. Yeah. 

Not cute.

“So, we’re goin’ undercover?” Jason asked, shoving his stupid thoughts down.

“Oh! Yeah,” Tim stumbled out of his chair in excitement, “I figure we can just go as regular club-goers for now and stake out the place from the inside.

He went to one of the many wardrobes in the room and began to ruffle through it.

After a few moments, he stopped and whipped around to look at Jason.

“Do you have anything you can wear?”

“Huh?” Jason really needed to get it together.

“I just don’t think I’ll have anything that’ll fit you.”

“Oh, yeah, at a safe house.”

“Cool, go get your stuff, then come back here for makeup.”

Usually, Jason would bristle at being ordered about, but Tim was good at disguises, and Jason didn’t want to bring back the cold, emotionless robot Tim had been earlier. Sassy Tim was far too entertaining. 

“Sure, I’ll be back in an hour.”

Tim didn’t respond beyond flashing Jason a thumbs up as he returned to rummaging in the closet.

“...” Jason shrugged and turned to head out. He paused as a thought hit him.

“Make sure you incorporate that collar into your disguise!”

“Got it!”

***

Jason had made a mistake. One tiny miscalculation that was going to be his doom. 

In his hubris, he had forgotten that Tim, master of disguise, could be very sexy when he wanted to be. 

It was something he knew intellectually but had never had the misfortune of witnessing first hand. How did anyone ever focus when Tim disguised himself?

Tim glanced up when Jason awkwardly entered the room. 

“You’re back. Good. Let me do your makeup,” Tim waved a hand to a chair near his large desk, which was covered in various bottles and tubes.

He was wearing a very sparkly red top, along with black jeans that hugged his toned legs. 

Around his neck was the collar Jason had given him. 

Jason’s mouth was very dry as Tim finally looked up at him, he had ringed his eyes with eyeliner, and it made his brown contacts pop.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Jason shuffled over and dropped into the chair.

Tim tilted his head to the side, “do you want me to do anything fancy, or just the basics?”

Jason, mesmerized by the way Tim had done his hair, choked out a “whatever you think’s best.”

Tim cracked a grin. It was devastating. Jason was positive Tim could get whatever he wanted as long as he smiled like that.

Then Tim leaned in, and Jason’s brain gave up on any coherent thought.

“-inking, we should have some sort of distress signal,” Tim’s voice snapped Jason back to the present.

“Wha?”

Tim looked down at him; head cocked to the side.

“A distress signal? In case we have a run-in with the vampires? Mikey said they can manipulate people?”

“Oh,” rage cleared the fluffy thoughts from Jason’s head, “yeah, Vampires can compel their victims. Some nonsense about hunting their prey.” 

“Yeesh,” Tim wrinkled his nose in distaste, “so yeah, a signal? What do you think?”

“Well,” Jason struggled to put his thoughts together as Tim leaned in again, “it should probably be something that won’t raise suspicions? Definitely easy to remember if those leeches try anything.”

“What about; I’ve got work tomorrow?” Tim suggested as he tilted Jason’s head to the side, “do you think you’ll remember that?”

“Yeah.”

“What about code names?”

“Uh, what ’bout them?”

Tim look faintly scandalized, “please don’t tell me you go around introducing yourself as Jason when you’re undercover.”

Jason snorted awkwardly, “uh no, I generally use Peter.”

Tim huffed, his lips quirked up, and his eyes crinkled at the corners, “I guess that’s not terrible. You can call me Alvin.”

“Alvin?”

Tim grinned, “it’s a long story,” he leaned back, “alright then.” He gestured for Jason to look in the mirror, “what do you think?”

Jason turned and was rather surprised to see that he looked handsome. 

“Uh,” he glanced at Tim, who was watching him with a nervous expression, “it’s good?”

Tim beamed, “you think so?”

Jason, still unable to deal with Tim and his adorableness, nodded awkwardly.

Tim clapped his hands together, “great!” He spun and walked across the room.

Jason tried to get his racing emotions under control.

“Here,” Tim held out a tiny earpiece, “we can use these to communicate in case we get separated.”

Jason nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He felt like he was going to spontaneously combust. 

How was he going to survive tonight?

***

Demeter was a creepy club. 

Red and blue lights turned on and off intermittently, giving a weird twilight atmosphere. The walls were dark and hard to see, making the main dancer floor seem never-ending. 

The music was not the typical techno of a club, it was sonorous and deep in a way only full orchestras could be. It thundered through the club, filling every corner. 

On the dance floor bodies writhed in a mass of club-goers. The lighting made it impossible to discern features.

A tug on Jason’s arm dragged him back to the present, he looked down at Tim who motioned for him to lean down.

“We should go to the bar!” Tim yelled into his ear over a swell of cellos.

Jason nodded and began to make his way towards the bar on the other side of the room.

He could feel Tim press near him in an effort to avoid the crush of bodies.

It made him aware of how small Tim was. 

When the other man was in his Red Robin suit, his aura of confidence erased any doubts brought on by his stature. But now, without it, he seemed vulnerable. Jason shifted an arm around Tim’s shoulders to draw him closer. This was a literal den of predators, and Tim surely looked like a tasty snack. 

They finally made it to the bar, and Tim shrugged off Jason’s arm. Jason found he missed Tim’s warmth.

He needed to get it together.

Jason watched as Tim leaned against the bar, a charming smile across his face. He walked closer, coming to a stop a hair’s breadth away from Tim.

Now that he was closer, he could hear Tim asking the bartender, a young woman in a black and red uniform, how her job was.

“It’s such a unique space, you must have a lot of fun?” Tim asked.

The bartender, whose nametag said Samantha, laughed. “Well the music’s definitely an acquired taste,” she shrugged as she poured Tim a drink.

“Yeah?” Tim leaned forward, “what sort of music do like then?”

“I’m a k-pop girl myself,” Samantha admitted.

“Really?” Tim looked delighted, “have you heard of-”

Jason didn’t hear the rest of the question. The shimmer of a ghost had caught the corner of his eye. 

When he turned, he saw a transparent woman floating above the crowd, hands cupped around her mouth as she called something inaudible.

Jason leaned into Tim, “I’m goin’ to the bathroom, keep yer guard up.”

Tim didn’t reply, only nodded to show he had heard Jason. He continued to talk to Samantha.

Jason took off through the crowd after the ghost.

It was hard to keep up with her as she could phase through the crowd and Jason had to be mindful as he walked.

Finally, he did catch up with her, though. She floated out into a deserted hallway, and Jason, after checking for living people, called out to her, “excuse me.”

She turned, startled, and stared at Jason wide-eyed.

“Hi,” Jason waved, “Is everything alright?”

The woman continued to stare. Then she blinked and shook her head a little.

“No, it’s really not,” she looked exhausted, well, as much as a ghost could.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” making small talk with ghosts never stopped being surreal.

“You should go,” the ghost said, “this place is full of monsters.”

Jason nodded and straightened, trying his best to look confident, “I know. My name is Peter, I’m trying to stop what’s happening.” 

The ghost frowned, “how are you going to do that?”

“I have my ways,” he decided to take a risk, “could you tell me what happened to you?”

“What happened to me?” she stated oddly calm, “Why I died, of course, I would have thought that obvious.”

Right,” Jason looked around once more, but the hallway was still deserted, “I heard from another ghost that there were vampires killing people. Can you tell me about that?”

“Oh,” a sardonic smile stretched across her face, “that.”

“Yeah,” Jason had a bad feeling about that smile, “that.”

“It was so stupid, you know? One minute I was dancing, and then my friend went off with one of them-” her face cracked into a pained expression, “and I went after him but it was too late, and that fucking monster had his fangs in him, and poor Mikey didn’t deserve a damn thing like that and then-” she cut off with a shuddering breath, her face smoothing out, “and then I woke up like this,” she gestured to herself, “does that answer your question?” She began to fade without waiting for Jason’s answer.

“Wait! I’ve seen Mikey,” Jason blurted out.

“What?” Her eyes narrowed, and she shot closer to Jason, “where?”

“He’s out ‘round chapel street,” Jason directed.

“He is!” The ghost broke into a grin, “Thank you, Peter.”

And then she was gone.

It hadn’t been the most informative conversation, but Jason hoped she and Mikey found each other without any trouble. 

Jason made his way back to the main club room when his comm crackled to life, and Tim’s voice carried over the line. 

“-that’s a flattering offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’ve got work tomorrow.”

Jason’s blood ran cold, and he took off, out down the hall, and onto the dance floor.

Whipping his head around, he searched frantically for Tim.

He wasn’t at the bar. The longer Jason looked, the more his breath caught in his throat, and the crowd seemed to close in around him.

If he couldn’t find Tim, if he couldn’t find him, he would die. He would die, and it would be all Jason’s fault, and why did he agree to this? Just because it was nice to have someone who didn’t think he was a freak for talking to the dead? Was he really that selfish?

How could he have let this happen?

If Tim died-

“-er. Peter! Mr. Red hood!” The sound of his name broke through his panic. He looked up to find Mikey staring at him in concern, behind him was the female ghost Jason had met earlier, and Daniel and Angie.

“Hi! Suzy said you were investigating, so I figured we could help?” Mikey waved to the female ghost, Suzy, who shrugged.

“Alvin,” was all Jason could say.

“What?”

“I need ta find Alvin, he’s in trouble,” Jason blurted out, uncaring if it made the other club-goers think he was crazy.

“Okay?” Mikey seemed confused, “what does he look like?”

“What?” 

“‘e said, what’s ‘e look like!” Daniel yelled.

“We’ll help you look for him!” Angie added.

“He’s small and has jaw-length dark hair. He’s wearing a sparkly red top and black jeans,” Jason described, “Mikey, can you check the area by the DJ?” A nod, “Angie, you check the alleys?”

“Sure.”

“Daniel, check the bathrooms.”

“The boys and the ladies? ’cause I ain’t that kinda fella and-” Daniel began.

“Just the boys,” Jason interjected, he turned to Suzy, “will you check the upstairs rooms?” She nodded.

“Thank you. I- this means so much to me,”

“Don’t worry, will help you find yer boy,” Mikey promised. He and the others faded as they floated away.

Jason began to make his way back to the bar. Around him, the music was picking up speed as a frenetic waltz began to play.

He waved a hand when he reached it, “Samantha! Samantha!”

The bartender turned to look at him curiously, “can I help you?”

“Have you seen my friend? He’s about yay tall?” Jason raised a hand to match Tim’s height, “he was wearing a sparkly red shirt, and you were talking about K-pop?”

Samantha blinked and tapped a finger to her chin in thought, “Maybe? I do remember him, but I’m not quite sure where he went.”

Jason’s stomach sunk.

“Peter, Peter!” Mikey phased into existence beside him, “I found him, but you have to come right now!”

“Okay, thank you!” Jason yelled over his shoulder to Samantha as he raced after Mikey, elbowing his way through the crowd.

“Where is he?” He demanded as he followed Mikey.

“Upstairs, but he’s in so much trouble!” Mikey was highly agitated.

“Why? Has one of those leeches got a hold of him?” Jason’s mind was racing. He didn’t have enough weaponry on him, only a tiny wooden stake. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get Tim out of this without blowing their covers.

“It’s Alucard!”

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! This chapter ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but I have the next chapter written I swear. It just needs to be edited. Thank you to everyone who commented or gave kudos, your support means so much to me :D


	4. Jason is Upsetti Spaghetti

Fuck. Fuckity Fuck Fuck. 

Jason needed to get to Tim right the fuck now. He rounded another corner and nearly slammed into a bouncer.

“We have to go past him!” Mikey shouted as he whirled mid-air to stare at Jason.

“...” Jason lowered his chin, he knew he needed to be past tall dark and muscular two minutes ago, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it, especially if the bouncer was a vampire.

Jason wasn’t really equipped to fight one, and it would only waste precious time.

“Can I help you?” the bouncer seemed bored.

“I’m trying ta find my friend,” Jason decided to go out on a limb, “he’s wearing a sparkly red shirt, about this tall?” he gestured once again to Tim’s height.

The bouncer tilted his head and looked Jason up and down, sizing him up.

“He’s in the VIP section, go down the hall and up the stairs,” the bouncer pointed.

“Thank you, seriously,” Jason took off down the hall as fast he could without breaking into a full-on sprint.

“Mikey, which way?” he asked under his breath as he climbed up the stairs.

“The room at the end of the hall,” Suzy interjected, materializing next to Mikey, “Daniel and Angie are trying to help.”

“Got it,” Jason could see the door. He pulled a spare domino mask out of his pocket and plastered it to his face.

Behind the door, something smashed and Jason kicked down the door. 

Tim was standing with his back to the door, a shattered vase between him and a tall albino man. He turned, and his shoulders sagged in relief when he saw Jason. 

“Peter!” Angie yelled from in between the two, “thank goodness!” 

“Beat up the scoundrel!” Daniel yelled.

Jason moved into the room, keeping an eye on Alucard, who watched him with an amused smile on his face.

Tim took a step back to meet Jason so that they were standing side by side.

“And who might you be?” Alucard asked.

“‘S kinda rude to ask for someone’s name before introducing yerself,” Jason said. 

Alucard laughed, “I am Alucard,” he grinned, and his fangs became visible, “and I own this club.”

Tim was oddly quiet, it worried Jason, but he couldn’t move to check on him, not with Alucard watching them the way a predator watched its prey.

“Cool. I’m just here to pick up my friend,” Jason nodded at Tim, “we’ll be out of yer hair in a minute.”

“Oh, but I was having such fun with Alvin here,” Alucard pouted, “why don’t you stay and keep us company?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Suzy yelled.

“RUN RUN RUN!” Mikey shouted at the same time.

“Sorry, we’ve got work tomorrow,” Jason smiled without a hint of friendliness. He took hold of Tim’s arm.

“Shit.” Angie was looking at something over Jason’s shoulder.

“I’m certain your work can continue without you.”

The hairs on the back of Jason’s neck stood up, he turned and saw several other people, probably vampires, standing in the doorway.

“After all, you seem like such an interesting character,” Alucard took a seat, looking as satisfied as the cat that caught the canary.

Jason was aware of the ghosts yelling and the vampire goons moving closer. His mind was racing as he tried to think of a way out of this absolutely shitting situation when Tim pressed closer.

“No need to be afraid, my dear,” Alucard said, noticing Tim’s movements, “I promise you won’t feel a thing.

“FUCK YOU, YOU SHITHEAD! Suzy yelled.

“Do not listen to him!” Mikey yelled at Jason, waving his hands in panic.

Tim pressed something into Jason’s hand. It was a smoke pellet.

“I told you… I’ve got work?” Tim’s voice sounded dreamy and a little confused.

“Yeah,” Jason wound up, “and besides, I don’t much like the idea of being dinner.”

He threw the smoke pellet.

Several things happened at once. 

The ghosts broke out into a cacophony of shouts and cheers.

Alucard’s goons charged.

Jason flung Tim over his shoulder and bolted for the window.

He crashed through it and silently thanked the universe that it wasn’t reinforced glass.

Tim clung to Jason as they tumbled out onto the street, the air drowning out all sound. 

They landed on the opposite roof, and Jason broke into a sprint. He wasn’t sure if the goons had followed them, but he wasn’t in the mood to find out.

He ran across a few more rooftops before Tim finally shifted and seemed to wake from his stupor.

“Hood, Hood, I think we’re alright now!”

Jason slowed and finally came to a stop in the shadow of a billboard. He set Tim onto his feet and watched worriedly as the other stumbled for a moment before finding his balance.

“You alright there, Red?”

Tim frowned and blinked, “yeah, I wasn’t expecting them to be so powerful.” He bit his lip, “are you alright?”

“I’m not the one who nearly got eaten.”

Tim gave a tired shrug. It made Jason worried. “you should call it a night,” he suggested.

“What?” Tim jerked his head up, “I’m fine!”

“Chill, chill, I only suggested it because you look like yer about to fall over.”

“He’s right, you know.”

Shit.

Jason and Tim both flinched as Dick Grayson’s voice cut in.

Craning his head up, Jason could see Dickface was standing on the billboard above them, a stupid fucking smirk on his face.

“Butt out, Dickhead!” Jason yelled.

“Hey now,” Dick swung down from his perch, “no need to be so testy.”

“It’s none of your business Nightwing,” Tim said, sounding agitated. Jason thought it was weird, especially because he had always thought Tim and jerkwing got along like two peas in a pod.

“Hate to argue with you red, but I think it kinda is, especially when my two little brothers come bolting across the roofs like hell is on their heels.” 

Tim scowled, and Jason knew he was doing the same, the last thing he wanted to do was explain to goldie why they had been running. 

“We were on a stakeout that went sideways,” was all Tim said.

“Come on Red, that’s not enough, and you know it,” Dickface pouted.

“Yeah well, it’ll have ta be,” Jason cut in. He turned to Tim, “let’s vamoose Red.”

Tim nodded and started towards Jason, only to be stopped by jerkwing. 

“No, Red, you’ve been avoiding us for weeks, come back to the cave, B’ and the others are worried,” he pleaded.

Jason ignored Dickhead, excluding him to focus on the fact that Tim had been avoiding the other bats. It seemed weird, especially because Tim was B’s most loyal soldier. 

“Even Damian?” Tim’s clear bitterness was devastating. Goldie pulled back as if burned.

“C’mon Red, that’s not fair.”

Tim straightened up, “too bad. Hood,” he turned and walked over to Jason, “let’s go.”

Jason didn’t need to be told twice, being in Dickface’s presence for too long made him feel like he was going to puke.

Tim wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck, and he shot his grappling line off the roof. 

* * *

They swung in silence until they returned to Tim’s safe house.

“Do you want ta tell me what that was about?” Jason asked when they were inside.

Tim shrugged and folded his arms, “we should come up with a cover story for when they inevitably decide to investigate.”

“Yeah, but what should we tell them? Hey, we’re investigating a bunch of asshole vampires? B’ll flip his shit.” 

Tim winced, “we could say we were investigating a gang,” he walked to his desk and began to sort through bottles, “it’s basically the truth. The problem is they’re going to want to know why we’re working together.”

Jason’s shoulders hunched, “yeah jerkwing’s probably wondering why his perfect little brother’s working with the family disappointment.”

Tim snorted as he wiped the makeup from his face, “I’m not his little brother.”

“No?” That was weird, Tim was totally the favorite, the best detective, the most logical.

“Nah, that’s the demon spawn.” And wow, did Tim sound bitter about that. Jason was kind of fascinated.

“Okay, we tell them it’s in my territory, and I said you could help. That’s all.”

“Yeah?” Tim looked tired, “that’s all?”

“Yep, anything else ain’t none of their business.”

Tim smiled at Jason, watery and small, “okay.”

He ran a hand through his hair and walked past Jason towards the kitchen.

Jason followed after him, “we should think of a new plan now that those leeches know someone’s investigating.”

Tim nodded as he started his coffee maker. He didn’t say anything as he watched it work. 

Jason wondered if the encounter with Alucard had shaken him up more than he let on. He wanted to ask, but after the way Tim had shut him down the first time, he figured it wouldn’t work out well.

“Are they going to go away if we get evidence on them?” Tim finally asked, “They’re pretty brazen about taking people.”

“Yer not gonna like this, but have you considered that we might need ta stop ’em a bit more permanently?” Jason pointed out.

Tim pressed his lips together and turned back towards the coffee maker. Jason’s heart sunk.

“Only as a last resort,” Tim said after a moment of silence, “I’d like to look into other options first.”

Jason nodded, even though Tim couldn’t see him, he leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.

“‘S too bad we can’t just stick ’em ina jail,” he mused, “would regular jails even be able to hold ’em?”

Tim’s coffee maker beeped.

“Do you want some?”

“Nah,” Jason’s mind was still tumbling over the idea of a vampire prison, “I’m more of a tea kinda guy.”

“I’ve got tea?” Tim offered, sounding unsure.

Jason leaned forward in his chair, “yeah? Didn’t take you for the type.”

Tim shrugged, “It was a house-warming gift from Alfred.” 

Apparently, his coffee machine did tea also, and since Jason wasn’t in the mood to start an argument, he didn’t comment.

Even if the tea did have an aftertaste.

They sat in silence for a long moment, sipping their beverages, before Tim broke it by saying, “what if we don’t mention the vampire part?”

“Okay?”

Tim set his mug down, looking much more awake than he had been previously.

“Well, we didn’t mention the demon, right? Assdung,”

“Ag’ dramug,” Jason corrected.

Tim made a face and waved a hand, “irrelevant. Anyway, my point was, we didn’t tell the police about him, just that the cultists were kidnapping and killing people.”

“Ohh, we don’t need to tell them about the vampire part, just that they’re like metas!” Jason added.

“Exactly! we just say they get their power from blood or something and can use mind-altering powers.” Tim agreed excitedly.

“That’s brilliant!” Jason praised.

Tim huffed, and his cheeks flushed, it was cute.

“The only problem then is making sure whatever jail can hold them,” he said, mostly to himself, “do you know the specifics of how strong they are?” he asked Jason.

“Strong enough to throw a grown man like a sack of flour.”

Tim made a face as he became lost in thought. Jason swore he could see the cogs turning behind Tim’s eyes.

“Jason, you’ve fought vampires before, how did you deal with them then?”

Jason winced internally, “silver bullets,”

Tim’s face pinched, “ah,”

“Yep.”

“This would be so much easier if we could do, like, actual research,” he grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Jason watched as Tim paced angrily for a moment.

He racked his own memory for anything useful.

“What if we could ask someone?” he offered.

Tim stopped short, “what do you mean?”

“Don’t freak out, okay?” 

Tim frowned at Jason, but he made a go on gesture.

“Well, they’re a lot of ghosts in Gotham, I think it wouldn’t be much of a stretch ta think one of them know something.”

“You think so?” Tim brightened up.

“Sure.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tim placed his mug in the sink and then darted past Jason towards the nest, “let’s go!” he called over his shoulder.

Jason huffed a laugh and dragged himself to his feet, following after Tim a much more sedated pace.

“Slow your roll, Timmers,” Tim raised an eyebrow at him from the doorway of the nest, “you need ta give it a couple of hours before you go runnin’ into the next shitfest.”

Tim crossed his arms, “I’m fine, Jason,” he sounded like he was humoring a little kid.

“Maybe you are,” Jason stated, being careful not actually agree. “But these leech assholes aren’t run of the mill goons, better to fight them when we’re sure yer at a hundred percent.” It would Jason feel infinitely better if Tim would rest, if not sleep, for a couple of hours before they decided to tangle with Alucard and his minions.

“So what? We just let them keep running around eating people?” Tim accused.

Jason winced, “look, we can’t really fight them now anyway,” Tim gave him a skeptical look, “they’re expecting us, we have better odds a takin’ ’em out if we give it a minute.”

“Okay, so we’ll go look into ways of containing them,” Tim argued, “glad we’re on the same page.”

Jason wanted to shake Tim. His replacement was so stubborn, how did anyone work with this workaholic.

“Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey *waves awkwardly* I'm super sorry for leaving you all on that cliffhanger for months. A combination of other projects and school stole my attention. I'm going to try and finish this story by Saturday but I'm learned my lesson about making predictions. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope everyone is doing well during these stressful times :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave me a comment if you feel so inclined :)


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